1698 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1698 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge is formed.
- The latest edition of the Bay Psalm BookBay Psalm BookThe Bay Psalm Book was the first book, that is still in existence, printed in British North America.The book is a Psalter, first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Psalms in it are metrical translations into English...
is the first to include music. - In his Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English StageShort View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English StageIn March of 1698, Jeremy Collier published his anti-theater pamphlet, A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage; in the pamphlet, Collier attacks a number of playwrights: William Wycherley, John Dryden, William Congreve, John Vanbrugh, and Thomas D’Urfey...
, clergyman Jeremy CollierJeremy CollierJeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
attaks leading contemporary dramatists (William CongreveWilliam CongreveWilliam Congreve was an English playwright and poet.-Early life:Congreve was born in Bardsey, West Yorkshire, England . His parents were William Congreve and his wife, Mary ; a sister was buried in London in 1672...
and Sir John VanbrughJohn VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
most prominently, but also John DrydenJohn DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
, Thomas d'UrfeyThomas d'UrfeyThomas D'Urfey was an English writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera....
, and William WycherleyWilliam WycherleyWilliam Wycherley was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for the plays The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer.-Biography:...
) for moral shortcomings in their works. Collier's book launches a controversy that dominates the literary world of Britain for the year; future editions of the book continue the controversy until Collier's death in 1726.
New books
- Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of OrreryCharles Boyle, 4th Earl of OrreryCharles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery KT PC FRS was an English nobleman, statesman and patron of the sciences....
- Dr Bentley's Dissertations on the Epistles of Phalaris, and the Fables of Aesop - John BunyanJohn BunyanJohn Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he was a Reformed Baptist, in the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 29 August.-Life:In 1628,...
- The Heavenly Foot-Man; or, A Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven - Jeremy CollierJeremy CollierJeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
- A Short View of the Immorality, and Profaneness of the English Stage (continued in 1699, 1700, 1703, and 1708) - William CongreveWilliam CongreveWilliam Congreve was an English playwright and poet.-Early life:Congreve was born in Bardsey, West Yorkshire, England . His parents were William Congreve and his wife, Mary ; a sister was buried in London in 1672...
- Amendments of Mr Collier's False and Imperfect Citations - Robert GouldRobert GouldRobert Gould was a significant voice in Restoration poetry in England.He was born in the lower classes and orphaned when he was thirteen. It is possible that he had a sister, but her name and fate are unknown. Gould entered into domestic service...
- A Satyr Against Wooing - Charles Hopkins - White-hall; or, The Court of England
- John Hughes - The Triumph of Peace
- Walter PopeWalter PopeWalter Pope was an English astronomer and poet. He was born in Northamptonshire and was the half brother of John Wilkins, who would become bishop of Chester. He was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, with a BA in 1649, MA in 1651...
- Moral and Political Fables, Ancient and Modern
New drama
- Catherine Trotter CockburnCatherine Trotter CockburnCatharine Trotter Cockburn was a novelist, dramatist, and philosopher.-Life:Born to Scottish parents living in London,Trotter was raised Protestant but converted to Roman Catholicism at an early age...
- The Fatal Friendship - John CrowneJohn CrowneJohn Crowne was a British dramatist and a native of Nova Scotia.His father "Colonel" William Crowne, accompanied the earl of Arundel on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1637, and wrote an account of his journey...
- Caligula - Thomas Dilke - The Pretenders
- Thomas D'UrfeyThomas d'UrfeyThomas D'Urfey was an English writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera....
- The Campaigners - George FarquharGeorge FarquharGeorge Farquhar was an Irish dramatist. He is noted for his contributions to late Restoration comedy, particularly for his plays The Recruiting Officer and The Beaux' Stratagem .-Early life:...
- Love and a Bottle - Charles GildonCharles GildonCharles Gildon , was an English hack writer who was, by turns, a translator, biographer, essayist, playwright, poet, author of fictional letters, fabulist, short story author, and critic. He provided the source for many lives of Restoration figures, although he appears to have propagated or...
- Phaeton; or, The Fatal Divorce - Peter Anthony MotteuxPeter Anthony MotteuxPeter Anthony Motteux , born Pierre Antoine Motteux, was an English author, playwright, and translator...
- Beauty in Distress - John OldmixonJohn OldmixonJohn Oldmixon was an English historian.He was a son of John Oldmixon of Oldmixon, Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. His first writings were poetry and dramas, among them being Amores Britannici; Epistles historical and gallant ; and a tragedy, The Governor of Cyprus...
- Amintas (adapted from the AmintaAmintaAminta is a play written by Torquato Tasso in 1573, represented during a garden party at the court of Ferrara. Both the actors and the public were noble persons living at the Court, who could understand subtle allusions the poet made to that style of life, in contrast with the life of shepherds,...
of TassoTorquato TassoTorquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
) - William Philips - The Revengeful Queen
- Mary PixMary PixMary Pix was an English novelist and playwright. Church records indicate that she lived in London, marrying George Pix, a merchant tailor from Hawkhurst, Kent in 1684. Baptismal records reveal that she had two sons, George and William...
- Queen Catharine, or, The Ruins of Love - Edward RavenscroftEdward RavenscroftEdward Ravenscroft , English dramatist, belonged to an ancient Flintshire family.He was entered at the Middle Temple, but devoted his attention mainly to literature. Among his pieces are...
- The Italian Husband
Non-fiction
- Anonymous - The Maxims of the Saints Explained, Concerning the Interiour Life (transl. of François FénelonFrançois FénelonFrançois de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, more commonly known as François Fénelon , was a French Roman Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer...
) - Francis AtterburyFrancis AtterburyFrancis Atterbury was an English man of letters, politician and bishop.-Early life:He was born at Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, where his father was rector. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he became a tutor...
- A Discourse Occasion'd by the Death of the Right Honourable the Lady Cutts - Jacques-Bénigne BossuetJacques-Bénigne BossuetJacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
- Relation sur le quiétisme - Daniel DefoeDaniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
- An Enquiry into the Occasional Conformity of Dissenters, in Cases of Preferment
- The Poor Man's Plea
- John DuntonJohn DuntonJohn Dunton was an English bookseller and author. In 1691, he founded an Athenian Society to publish The Athenian Mercury, the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England.-Early life:...
- Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild IrishTeague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish (1698)Teague Land: or A Merry Ramble to the Wild Irish is a book by John Dunton describing his travels in Ireland in 1698.-The text:Teague Land consists of seven letters to a fictional lady friend of Dunton, in which he describes his experiences while travelling around Ireland... - John Dennis - The Usefulness of the Stage, to the Happiness of Mankind, to Government and to Religion
- Andrew Fletcher - A Discourse of Government with Relation to Militia's
- George FoxGeorge FoxGeorge Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
- A Collection of Many Select and Christian Epistles, Letters and Testimonials - Charles GildonCharles GildonCharles Gildon , was an English hack writer who was, by turns, a translator, biographer, essayist, playwright, poet, author of fictional letters, fabulist, short story author, and critic. He provided the source for many lives of Restoration figures, although he appears to have propagated or...
- The Lives and Characters of the English Dramatic Poets - Charles Leslie - A Short and Easie Method with the Deists
- Edmund LudlowEdmund LudlowEdmund Ludlow was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his Memoirs, which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source for historians of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. After service in the English...
- Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow Esq. - George Ridpath - The Stage Condemn'd
- Elkanah SettleElkanah SettleElkanah Settle was an English poet and playwright.He was born at Dunstable, and entered Trinity College, Oxford, in 1666, but left without taking a degree. His first tragedy, Cambyses, King of Persia, was produced at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1667...
- A Defence of Dramatick Poetry - Algernon Sidney - Discourses Concerning Government (vs. Robert FilmerRobert Filmerthumbnail|150px|right|Robert Filmer Sir Robert Filmer was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings...
) - Tooke's PantheonTooke's PantheonTooke's Pantheon, full title Tooke's Pantheon of the Heathen Gods and Illustrious Heroes, was a work on Greek mythology.The Jesuit François Pomey authored the Pantheum mythicum seu fabulosa deorum historia. The Pantheum mythicum became the mythological handbook of the following two centuries...
of the Heathen Gods and Illustrious Heroes - John VanbrughJohn VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
- A Short Vindication of The Relapse and The Provok'd Wife, from Immorality and Prophaneness by the Author - Ned WardNed WardNed Ward , also known as Edward Ward, was a satirical writer and publican in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century based in London, England. His most famous work is The London Spy. Published in 18 monthly instalments starting in November 1698 it was described as a "complete survey" of...
:- The London SpyThe London SpyThe London Spy by Ned Ward is a non-fiction book about London lowlife and vice published in 1703. The chapters are arranged topographically. The account is told in the first person by the author under the persona of 'The London Spy'....
(published as a periodical through 1700) - A Trip to Jamaica
- The London Spy
- Benjamin WhichcoteBenjamin WhichcoteBenjamin Whichcote was a British Establishment and Puritan divine, Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and leader of the Cambridge Platonists.-Life:...
- Select Sermons of Dr. Whichcot (ed. Anthony Ashley CooperAnthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of ShaftesburyAnthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury was an English politician, philosopher and writer.-Biography:...
, Earl Shaftesbury)
Births
- January 13 - MetastasioMetastasioPietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.-Early life:...
, Italian poet (died 1782) - May 8 - Henry BakerHenry Baker (naturalist)Henry Baker was an English naturalist.-Life:He was born in Chancery Lane, London, 8 May 1698, the son of William Baker, a clerk in chancery. In his fifteenth year he was apprenticed to John Parker, a bookseller...
, poet and son-in-law of Daniel DefoeDaniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
(died 1774) - July 19 - Johann Jakob BodmerJohann Jakob BodmerJohann Jakob Bodmer was a Swiss-German author, academic, critic and poet.-Life:Born at Greifensee, near Zürich, and first studying theology and then trying a commercial career, he finally found his vocation in letters...
, Swiss author (died 1783) - December 24 - William WarburtonWilliam WarburtonWilliam Warburton was an English critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759.-Life:He was born at Newark, where his father, who belonged to an old Cheshire family, was town clerk. William was educated at Oakham and Newark grammar schools, and in 1714 he was articled to Mr Kirke, an...
, English critic (died 1779)
Deaths
- January 14 - Jacques PradonJacques PradonJacques Pradon, often called Nicolas Pradon, was a French playwright. Early in his career he was helped by Pierre Corneille and was introduced to the salons at the Hôtel de Nevers and the Hôtel de Bouillon by Madame Deshoulières....
, dramatist - July 18 - Johann Heinrich HeideggerJohann Heinrich HeideggerJohann Heinrich Heidegger , Swiss theologian, was born at Bäretswil, in the Canton of Zürich.He studied at Marburg and at Heidelberg, where he became the friend of Johann Friedrich Fabriciuss, and was appointed professor extraordinarius of Hebrew and later of philosophy...
, theologian (born 1663) - August 25 - Fleetwood SheppardFleetwood SheppardFleetwood Sheppard was a British courtier and literary wit who was instrumental in the courts of Charles II of England and William of Orange...
, courtier and literary wit (born 1634) - October 11 - William MolyneuxWilliam MolyneuxWilliam Molyneux FRS was an Irish natural philosopher and writer on politics.He was born in Dublin to Samuel Molyneux , lawyer and landowner , and his wife, Anne, née Dowdall. The second of five children, William Molyneux came from a relatively prosperous Anglican background...
, philosopher and political writer (born 1656) - date unknown - Jacques QuétifJacques QuétifJacques Quétif was a French Dominican and noted bibliographer. His major work Scriptores ordinis praedicatorum was completed by his fellow Dominican Jacques Échard....
, bibliographer